LAKE CITY, Fla. — HAECO is an aerospace company that works alongside airlines like United and Spirit. It is Lake City economy's bread and butter - 12,000 people live in Lake City, more than 600 of them work here.
Those employees want to see city leaders do whatever it takes to keep HAECO there, but some members of city council can't help but feel the multi-million dollar corporation is taking advantage of the small town.
"My daughter just started working out there," said HAECO Employee Rusty Raulerson at a city council meeting. "My brother worked out there 23 years. My mom worked out there for 19 years."
Raulerson works as a maintenance supervisor for HAECO, alongside quite a few of his family members and friends.
With contract talks between the city and the aerospace company hitting a wall, he's suddenly worried about his job security.
"It's just an embarrassment to have to go through this," said Raulerson. "I just don't see it."
HAECO leases its property on the Lake City Gateway Airport from the city for $150,000 a year.
It's contract time, and the city council took a look at a plan that would raise that to $300,000 a year.
Some leaders feel that number is still really low, considering the city relies on the lease money to keep the airport running and self-sufficient.
"We allow ourselves to be taken advantage of," said City Councilmember Todd Sampson. "I think it's ridiculous that we allowed ourselves to get to this point of them offering eight cents a square foot."
Right now, HAECO pays the city four cents for every square foot. That new contract would jump it to eight cents. Meanwhile, HAECO subleases one of its eight hangars for $4.71 a square foot - that's 59 times what the city would make off the same land.
"There's something wrong with that," said City Councilmember Jake Hill Jr. "Pay the city what it's somewhat worth, but it's not worth eight cents a square foot."
Other councilmembers feel you can't put a price on how valuable the hundreds of jobs are to the community.
"Those employees hold more value to Lake City than anything that has been spoken here tonight," said City Councilmember Chevella Young.
Ultimately, by a 3-2 vote, the council decided to extend the current lease for one year while they get the property appraised before heading back to negotiations.
Leaving the more than 600 employees to wonder if they'll be in the same position a year from now.
"People's not going to stick around for a year hoping we get a different response here," said HAECO Employee Dale Touchton. "They've already cost a lot of jobs. People are going to be jumping ship like rats, wait and see."
The city council did agree to give HAECO the first opportunity to negotiate once they get an appraised value of the land.